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 For
women, breast
cancer is a dreaded and devastating disease. Over a lifetime,
one in eight American women are affected by breast cancer. It is
the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause
of cancer death in women. Although currently there is no way to
prevent breast cancer, early detection is a woman's best hope for
effective treatment and better survival rates.
Currently,
breast cancer can be detected through a breast examination by a
physician or by the woman herself; or conventional x-ray mammogram,
which can find a tumor that is too small to be discovered by breast
self-exam.
The
use of technology to produce a picture of the breast is termed "imaging."
Imaging is used several ways, among them:
- Screening:
Cancers found by screening mammography have a greater chance for
cure and may be treated without mastectomy.
- Diagnosis:
Image-guided needle biopsies can replace many surgical biopsies,
reduce cost, and eliminate scarring.
| When
to have a mammogram |
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The
American Cancer Society recommends the following:
- Women
age 40 and older should have a screening mammography
every year.
- Between
the ages of 20 and 30, women should have a clinical
breast examination by a health professional every
three years. After age 40, women should have a breast
exam by a health professional every year.
- Women
age 20 or older should perform breast self-examination
every month.
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Conventional
mammography
Conventional
mammography is the way most breast imaging is performed. It is a
technique that uses x-rays to create an image of the breast tissue
on film. During a mammography, a woman undresses to the waist and
stands in front of the mammography equipment, where her breast is
slowly pressed between a plastic plate and the film while the x-ray
is taken.
This
"flattening" technique generally takes a few seconds.
Typically, two x-rays are taken of each breast; more may be needed
to view areas of special concern.
In
recent years, advances have improved the procedure and reduced the
radiation dose to very low levels. Even with technical advances
in x-ray mammography there are still problems distinguishing malignant
from benign tumors.
Three
of four lesions that it detects are benign, resulting in unnecessary
biopsies. Mammography misses about 15 percent of cancers. Many of
the missed cancers occur in women with dense breast tissue. About
40 percent of women have dense breasts and this type of tissue can
mask the presence of a tumor.
Digital
mammography
Because
mammograms are not foolproof, there is a need for newer technologies
that are better able to detect breast cancer. With digital mammography
it is possible to capture and display the x-ray information on computers,
without the use of film. It is then possible to enhance the quality
of the image and even magnify the view of specific areas of the
breast. Digital images can be corrected for under- or overexposure.
| Use
the services provided by PersonalMD.com to: |
- Remind
you when to perform your monthly breast self-exam
(BSE), when to schedule an appointment for a clinical
breast exam by your doctor, and when to schedule your
mammogram
- Record
the results of your monthly breast exam, doctor's
visit, and mammogram
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This
is especially useful in "dense" breast tissue, which makes
visualization of cancer difficult. And digital images can be stored
as electronic patient records, making them easier to retrieve and
send to specialists for evaluation.
At
this point in time it appears that digital images are as good as,
but not better than conventional mammography. Even though, digital
mammography is a step in the right direction in finding more sophisticated
ways to detect breast cancer.
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